


Socially Inadequate

by MimzyBear



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coming Out, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Panic Attacks, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27599075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MimzyBear/pseuds/MimzyBear
Summary: Etho is about to start his Freshman year at Hermitcraft University (I know its super cheesy, but I kind of love it). He has had a quiet life, just himself and his brother, until now. The next four years he and his new friends help each other grow into the best versions of themselves. They do hit a few bumps along the way. (I am not shipping the real people)
Relationships: Etho/Daniel M. | VintageBeef
Comments: 11
Kudos: 48





	1. Moving Out

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty... here goes nothing I'm attempting to write a longer fic. I don't really want to plan the whole thing out. I prefer to just make things up as I go, so I am interested to see how cohesive of a story it ends up to be. I mean, I want it to be a good story and I'm going to do my best, I've just never written something longer before. Also, I have no idea how long it is going to be. I truly have not planned anything past the 2nd chapter, because of this I may end up adding more tags, when need be.

Etho walked out of the front door with a bag slung over his shoulder. The morning air was a bit cold, but he could feel his skin beginning to warm up from the low rising sun. The horizon was painted with streaks of orange and red as the stars faded from existence. Etho threw his last bag onto the passenger seat and closed the car door. “Alright, that’s my last bag.” He said walking around to the driver’s side. His older brother stood there looking down at him proudly.

“When did you grow up E, just yesterday I was tricking you into eating dirt and here you are… going to college.” Etho’s older brother held firmly onto his shoulders smiling at him.

“Oh no X, the last time I ate dirt was like 11 years ago, AND you did not ‘trick’ me,” Etho said putting air quotes around tricked, “you straight up FORCED that spoon into my mouth.” Etho smiled, he was fond of the memory, even though it involved a really sore throat and a week of aggressive coughing.

Etho looked down at his watch, it was 7:00am. Xisuma watched his brother’s face sadden. “You should get going E. You’ve got a six-hour drive and I wouldn’t want you to be late.” Xisuma placed his hand gently on Etho’s chin and lifted his brother’s head up so they locked eyes. “I’ll call you next weekend, don’t worry about me okay. You have a better life ahead of you, mom and dad would be really proud.”

“I miss them.” Etho said quietly, both brothers had tears lingering in their eyes.

“Me too,” Xisuma said wrapping his brother in a tight hug, “now get going!” Xisuma swiftly turned his brother around by the shoulders and started pushing him toward the car door.

“Alright, alright.” Etho said coaxing his brother off himself and getting into the car. He shut the door and rolled down the window. “I’ll text you when I get there.” Etho blinked the wetness away from his eyes and smiled up at his brother.

Once Etho was situated he pulled out of the driveway. He could see his brother waving at him in the rearview mirror. Xisuma stood on the driveway waving until Etho’s car turned the corner and was no longer in sight.

Only once Xisuma knew for certain Etho was gone did he allow his worry to show on his face. Xisuma was extremely worried about his brother. Etho was super smart and talented. There was no question Etho would excel academically, but Etho never really grasped the social part of life. Xisuma was pretty sure Etho didn’t have any friends in high school. He never stayed late after school for extra curriculars, never went to a sports event, nor did he ever go to a dance.

Of course, when Xisuma asked his brother about it Etho said he was fine. He said he had a couple people he hung out with, and besides, he didn’t need anyone else when he has such a great brother. He probably was using flattery to get Xisuma off his back.

When their parents died Xisuma had just turned eighteen, Etho was ten. Despite what everyone told him to do, he made the stubborn decision to be Etho’s guardian. They had just lost their parents and Xisuma didn’t want to lose his brother as well. Looking back at it now, Etho needed real parents to raise him. He was no father to Etho, he still acted like an older brother. He allowed Etho to do whatever he wanted, and Xisuma had to work all the time to afford to take care of himself and Etho, leaving Etho alone most of the time. He just wanted the best for his younger brother and after the car accident Etho was a mess. Xisuma didn’t want to see him like that ever again, and so Xisuma never pushed Etho too hard. Luckily Etho liked learning, and he didn’t need the outside motivation to work hard. But he never bothered with people. The only person Etho cared about, alive anyway, was Xisuma.

Xisuma bit nervously at his fingernails. Maybe this is the best thing for Etho. Maybe being away from Xisuma would force Etho to finally make a life for himself. Without Xisuma there, Etho would have to talk to someone new. Hopefully build friendships that would last lifetimes. The last thing Xisuma wanted for his brother was for him to be alone, and up to this point, Xisuma felt it was his fault that his brother was currently alone.


	2. Moving In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I finally post another chapter! :)

It was noon and Etho had about forty minutes left in his trip. His move-in slot was at 1:00, meaning he was ahead of schedule. He had gone five hours without stopping and figured since he had the time he could stop for lunch. He took the next exit and looked for a Souplaza. It was his favorite fast-food restaurant, not in popular opinion. Souplaza’s main dish was soup, and many agreed that soup just wasn’t fast-food. Etho however, stood by it. If people weren’t always in a rush to get to where they’re going, maybe they would have time to try the soup. Just one bite, any kind, and they would be hooked for life. Etho was anyway.

He pulled into the Souplaza parking lot and parked the car. He slid the black fabric from around his neck up over his nose, then got out of the car. He had no answer when people asked him why he wore the mask. It did hide his nervous habit of biting his lower lip, but really it just made him feel comfortable. He started wearing them after the car accident. In the crash a large piece of glass cut across his left eye, he almost lost it entirely, but a miracle happened that night. He went into surgery and the doctor was able to save his eye. As for his vision, everyone was amazed when they removed the bandages a week later and Etho could see perfectly. The only difference was the long scar that ran from his forehead down to his lip and his iris was turned red from the blood. During his time in the hospital one of the nurses could tell how nervous Etho was. As a kind gesture she offered him a mask, so that the two of them could match. Etho didn’t want to refuse her gift and put it on. Turned out, wearing the mask made him feel safe and he just never stopped.

“Hi, what can I get for ya.” The girl behind the counter asked.

“A small Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls please, and a bottled water.” Etho ordered without looking up at the girl.

“We have tap water for free if you would prefer that.” She offered.

“No, bottled is fine… please.” Etho said shyly.

“That’s $7.56.” Etho handed the cashier his card. She swiped it and handed it back with the receipt. “It’ll just be a few minutes.

“Thank you.” Etho said. He walked away from the counter and headed toward the bathroom; he had been holding it for a while.

He walked out of the bathroom just as his order number was being called. He grabbed his bag and went to his car. He settled into the front seat and pulled the bowl out of the bag. When he removed the lid a wonderful smell of fresh soup filled the car. He pulled his mask down and took in a deep breath feeling the warmth of the steam travel through his nose.

He took note of what exit he got off of. If this was the closest Souplaza to his university, he would definitely travel the forty minutes to eat here. After he finished eating, he got back on the highway. He started to get nervous when he saw the first sign of the town his college was in, Hermitcraft. It was a weird name, but he liked how quirky it was. He applied to a few different schools; he even got some really good scholarships offered to him. In the end he decided to go to Hermitcraft University. It was exactly what he was looking for, it also didn’t hurt that this was one of the schools that had given him a scholarship. A small not very well-known college, with a decent engineering program. When he toured the school, the campus felt very homey. It only took ten minutes to walk from one side of the campus to the other, it was also beautiful. Etho was confused as to why it wasn’t more heard of. It might have been because Hermitcraft was a town out in the middle of nowhere. The closest well-known city was about three hours from Hermitcraft.

Etho turned the next corner and the college came into view. He was excited to unpack and start his classes, but he knew that orientation weekend was not something he would enjoy. That and remembering he still had to meet his roommate made him nervous. Subconsciously, he started biting at his lower lip. There were already lines of cars waiting outside of the dorm buildings. He pulled up as close as he could get to his building and parked on the curb. He turned off his car and looked around making sure he grabbed everything he needed. He patted his right pocket checking for his wallet. He looked out of the car window and watched as people carried various items into the buildings. He even saw one kid very carefully carrying a small fish tank, fish included.

Taking a deep breathe, Etho pulled his mask up and slung his bag over his shoulder as he got out of the car. On the other side of the street to his building was a large area of grass. Today it was filled with tents shading the volunteers from the afternoon sun. He walked over to the tent labeled ‘Freshman Q-U’ and stood at the end of the line.

“Excuse me, um.” Etho felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. Behind him was another student. He had short brown hair and a bit of a four o’clock shadow. He was also a bit taller than Etho, but Etho was on the shorter side. “I need to fill a few things out on my form still, do you have a pen I could borrow?”

“Oh, yeah sure.” Etho said twisting his bag around to his side so he could dig through it. He pulled out a pen and handed it to the boy. While he was in his bag, he pulled out his own paperwork.

“Thanks! I’ll give this back to you before we reach the table.” The boy said with a friendly smile.

Etho nodded and turned back around, not even two minutes later he felt another tap on his shoulder.

“Here you go, all done!” The boy smiled, “Thank you again.” The boy said handing the pen back.

“It’s no problem.” Etho said giving a quick smile.

“My name is Impulse, by the way.” The boy said continuing the conversation.

“Oh uh, nice to meet you Impulse, I’m Etho.” He said quietly.

“Which building are you living in?” Impulse asked.

“I’m in West 2nd floor.”

“Really, I’m in West too, but I’m on the 3rd floor. I get an extra flight of stairs, woohoo” Impulse added the last bit on sarcastically. “You’re up.” Impulse added pointing to the table in front of Etho.

Etho gave him a nod and walked up to the table.

“Last name?” The girl at the table asked.

“Slab.” Etho said.

The girl flicked through one of the boxes filled with envelopes. She found Etho’s and pulled it out of the box. “Etho?”

“That’s me.” Etho said trading his paperwork for the envelope. “Thank you.” He turned from the table and started walking to the West building.

“It was nice to meet you Etho! I’ll see you around.” Etho looked back at Impulse who was waving at him.

“You too.” Etho said waving back by raising his hand with only his pointer and middle finger extended and flicking his wrist slightly.

He reached the second floor and started scanning the door numbers for his room 238. The hallway was surprisingly nicer than he expected it to be. Someone had decorated the walls like a jungle, and they had done a really good job too. The doors had different cutouts of jungle animals with the names of the students who lived there. He got to his room about halfway down the hall. His name was on a panda and his roommates on a toucan. He and his roommate had texted a few times over the summer. They had talked about sleeping preferences, who was bringing the fridge and other stuff like that. Otherwise they really didn’t know each other.

The door was open a little already and he could hear furniture being moved around inside. He pushed the door open. “Hello,” he said so he didn’t accidently sneak up on his roommate.

“Hey! Are you Etho?” The boy said. He was standing in the middle of the room next to a desk. He must have been in the middle of moving it. There were a couple boxes lying around half unpacked already. His roommate had the rest of his stuff pilled up on top of a bed, out of the way.

“Yeah, Tango?” Etho said walking further into the room. Tango had dirty blonde hair that was brushed backward, with a few strands falling on his forehead. Immediately Etho noticed his eyes, they were red. Not as bright of a red as his own, more of a marron. It was cool.

Tango laughed pulling Etho out of his thoughts. “The one and only! Cool right,” Tango said pointing to his eyes. Etho stopped starring and quickly looked at the ground feeling bad. “No worries, they’re the first thing everyone sees, I’m used to being starred at. As I’m sure you can relate.” Tango said pointing to Etho’s left eye.

Etho looked back up, “Yeah,” Etho paused thinking about his eye, then continued, “your eyes are really cool. I’ve seen red eyes,” Etho pointed to his own, “but yours…” he walked a bit closer, “its like they were meant to be red.”

Tango laughed again, “Thanks… you’re the first to describe it that way. I was born with them, so I guess that’s true.” Tango shrugged. Etho could tell he was confident and very comfortable with his appearance. “I take it, you weren’t born with yours.”

“No.” Etho said matter-of-factly and shook his head. The two stood there quietly.

“Okay,” Tango said ending the silence with a clap of his hands. “I took the right side; I hope you don’t mind. We can, of course, move things around. I’m really flexible.”

“No, I’ll take the left. It doesn’t really matter to me.” Etho replied setting what he had with him on the left desk.

“Great! Did you need help carrying your stuff up? I’m happy to help.” Tango offered.

“Yeah sure… that would be great, thank you.”

Tango finished pushing the desk out of the middle of the room and the two of them headed out to Etho’s car. Etho walked around to the back and opened the trunk.

“Wait, this is it? This will only take us like two trips.” Tango said surprised.

“Yeah, I pack light.” Etho said biting his bottom lip.

The two of them carried Etho’s stuff up to their room in no time. Etho placed his last bag on his bed. “I’m going to go move my car, then I’ll come back up and unpack.”

“Sounds good, I’ll just be here trying to remember which box I put my socks in.” Tango laughed and gave Etho a thumbs up.

Etho walked out of the room smiling. He thought about Tango on his way to his car. He liked him. The guy was nice, seemed funny, and easy going. Etho hoped Tango’s personality matched his first impression of him. If so, Etho thought the two of them would work well as roommate this year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. His First Friend

Etho had moved in on Monday along with most of the other freshman. The upperclassmen were moving in the following Saturday. The week in between was meant for the freshman to learn the ins and outs of living on campus and for them to get to know their fellow freshman. There were one or two meetings planned for them each day. The meetings covered a various array of topics. Each student was given a schedule telling them which meetings they had each day. The first meeting Etho went to he received the laptop the school issued to them. There was another about dorm room policies and campus rules. The usual stuff, like no alcohol, that many broke anyway. Then the orientation board, which was a group of very hyped upperclassmen, put on a social event every night.

It was now Friday, and Etho had chosen to skip all of the social events. Tango would leave with a few new people he had met and invite Etho to come along, but Etho always said no thanks and Tango never pushed for it. Etho would spend the night to himself reading, watching movies, or reorganizing his desk.

Etho was lounging in his bed. He had come back from his last meeting about 30 minutes ago. He had his back against the pile of pillows acting as a headboard and a book propped up on his thighs. He couldn’t wait for classes to start on Monday so that he had something else to occupy his time.

Etho heard the door open and looked up from his book to see Tango walk into the room.

“Hey, Etho! Man, I’m I glad to be done with those meetings.” Tango huffed as he threw his bag onto his desk chair and flopped over onto his bed. “I understand that all that information was important, but they couldn’t have made them any more boring.” Tango sat up and looked over to Etho.

“What was your last one?” Etho asked.

“The one where they teach you how to access your student account, I mean… come on, that did not need to take an hour!” Tango rolled his eyes and flopped back onto the bed.

“Maybe not for you, but there are those who are,” Etho paused searching for the right word to use, “technologically challenged.”

Tango laughed as he sat back up looking over in Etho’s direction. Etho remained facing his book. Tango was trying to decide if he should invite Etho to join him for the last social event tonight. The orientation board had planned a big dance. Supposedly the last dance of orientation week is not one to miss. Tango had invited Etho to come along with him to the first few events, but Etho always said no. Tango started to feel like he was annoying Etho, so he stopped asking. However, he was starting to understand Etho might be one of those people who would always choose the stay-at-home option, even if they were secretly needing human interaction.

Tango started to wonder if Etho had talked to anyone this week besides him. So, he confidently nodded his head once, finalizing his decision. He would not let his roommate go through college without having any fun. He was going to get Etho to go to the dance. Even introverts need to get out of the house sometimes.

“Etho, are you going to the dance tonight?”

Etho slowly turned his head to face Tango slightly confused, “That’s not a genuine question, right?” When Tango didn’t respond Etho continued. “Tango I haven’t gone to any of the events, I don’t really plan on starting now, not on the last one.”

“Why not? You not going to the others is the prefect reason why you should go to this one. Don’t you want to meet some new people. We are going to spend the next four years together with most of them.” Tango responded.

Etho closed his book and set it down on his desk, “Talking to people is not really my thing.” Etho said glancing away from Tango.

“Okay, same with 50% of the population that are shy. Come with me to the dance Etho, it will be fun.” Tango said encouragingly.

“I don’t think dances are fun.” Etho stated.

“Etho, I’m not going to let you sit in here alone for the fifth time this week, rearranging your desk for the THIRD time. Come with me, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. If you still hate it after ten minutes you can leave. I’ll even leave with you. We will come back here, and play go fish or something together.” Tango gave Etho a pleading smile.

Etho thought about it for a moment. He remembered what Xisuma had told him the night before he left home.

_“Etho, I know you never cared about meeting other people and making friends, but I encourage you to do so in college. I know you are going to priorities your studies… but life isn’t just about being successful. Sure, that does come with benefits. But you will never be happy if you don’t have anyone to share that success with.”_

_“I have you.”_

_“But I’m not always going to be around Etho. You’re going to be out there by yourself in college, and after you graduate. You will understand the importance of having friends as soon as you make one. You just need to make that first friend.”_

“You can trust me Etho, we’re friends.” Tango said pulling Etho out of his thoughts.

Etho looked up at Tango surprised. He hadn’t thought of him and Tango as being friends. They hadn’t known each other long and the two of them meeting was neither of their own choice, but here they were. He enjoyed Tango’s company and having conversations with him. It was like talking to Xisuma. Etho felt really stupid. Not only had he never had a friend, but he didn’t even know what it felt like to have one. Xisuma was right, and he should have listened to his brother sooner. He liked having a friend, it wasn’t a complete waste of time like he previously thought. He was glad the roommate he was randomly assigned to ended up being Tango. He needed someone like Tango to force him to socialize.

Etho took in a deep breath, deciding to take his brothers advice, “alright… I’ll go.”

“Really!” Tango jumped up from his bed, “I promise you won’t regret going.”

\-------

Etho sat on the edge of his bed lacing his shoes. He decided not to wear anything fancy tonight. Tango said it wasn’t really supposed to be a dance you dress up for, but some people did anyway to celebrate the end of orientation week. Tango emerged from the bathroom, where he had been for an excessively long time.

Etho looked up at him, “woah,” Etho said with a smirk, “I thought you said most people don’t dress up. You look pretty dressed up to me.”

Tango looked down at his outfit, “Oh this, it’s nothing. It’s not like I’m wearing a suit.” Which was true, he was wearing red skinny jeans and a grey vest. His shirt was the same shade of red as his jeans, a deep red color that complemented his eyes. Not to mention the very over the top boots Tango was wearing. They had so many laces and buckles. Tango might not have been wearing a suit but compared to Etho’s black T-shirt, (normally colored) jeans, and converse, Tango was definitely dressed up.

Then Etho stopped staring at Tango’s outfit and noticed his nervous stance. “Alright, out with it, who are you trying to impress.” Etho asked slouching in a relaxed position on his bed.

A small blush spread on Tango’s face as he failed at holding back a giddy smile. “I’ve been running into the same person everywhere this week. They are really nice and I kinda like them. We were actually planning on going to this dance together,” Tango gave is outfit another look, “Is it too much?” He asked nervously.

Etho chuckled, “No, you look great Tango.” Etho said pulling his legs up to sit crisscrossed now.

“But don’t worry,” Tango said hurriedly, “I still want to hang out with you tonight too. I won’t leave you.” Tango gave one more look at his hair with his phone, “Ready?”

Etho laughed at him, “Yeah, I guess so,” Etho said standing up.

“Great, causes we are meeting him there and I don’t want to be late.” Tango said excitedly.

Etho was readjusting his mask so it was positioned a little better, then he fully processed what Tango said, “him?” Etho said surprised without thinking.

Tango stopped on his way to their door and turned around to face Etho, “Oh yeah, um, so I’m gay. I kinda forgot people here don’t know that yet. I come out a few years ago, so most people already know… you don’t have a problem with that?” Tango said with the smallest hint of worry.

“Oh, um no, it’s cool. Just unexpected is all.” Etho said sticking his hands in his pockets.

Tango smiled brightly at Etho, “Okay, great. Let’s get going!” Tango turned around swiftly and walked out their door.

A smile spread across Etho’s face. Tango was so giddy he was almost skipping down the hallway, and his happiness was contagious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who have have read, left kudos, or comments. You are all appreciated!


	4. Trusting a Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a panic attack in this chapter, for those who need to know. It is short, but if you would prefer to skip over it, it starts after Tango says "Alright", then you can start reading again with the paragraph that starts with "Etho's eyes".

Tango and Etho walked side by side down the sidewalk. They were heading towards the recreation building where the dance was being held in the gym. As the pair approached the building, the muffled sounds of music became louder. Etho pictured the sea of students they would inevitably see when they entered and nervously bit at his bottom lip. Whatever bravery Etho had to spontaneously agree to come to the dance with Tango, was now gone, and his body language was not hiding his nerves.

“Um Tango, I might actually head back. I’m kind of tired, and I also don’t really want to be your third wheel.”

“Come on Etho, don’t back out on me now,” Tango said throwing his arm around Etho’s shoulder, “It’s Friday, you can sleep tomorrow. What are you nervous about?”

“I just… don’t like,” Etho paused thinking of what to say, “I’m not that great in social situations, and talking to people.”

“You talk to _me_ just fine.” Tango said with a shrug pulling his arm off Etho’s shoulder.

Etho continued to shuffle along with Tango despite not wanting to, “and what about your date?”

“It’s not really date, not yet anyway.” Tango winked, “So it isn’t really being a third wheel. It’s more like a… tripod.”

Etho rolled his eyes skeptically but continued to follow through with going. When they reached the building Tango’s “not date” was waiting outside the door.

“Hey Tango,” Impulse waved excitedly when the two had come into view.

“Hey Impulse,” Tango waved back and Etho could almost see a faint pink tint briefly flood Tango’s checks. Tango coughed and cleared his throat, which made Etho smirk, “This is my roommate,”

“Oh! Etho right.” Impulse interrupted Tango. He was just as giddy as Tango.

“You guys know each other?” Tango asked surprised, looking towards Etho.

“Not really.” Etho said sticking his hands in his pockets. Etho realized that might have unintentionally sounded a little rude and looked nervously at the ground.

“I borrowed a pen from Etho on move in day, so I really only know his name and face.” Impulse filled in.

“Oh okay, small campus. Let’s go!” Tango said excitedly.

The three of them walked through the doors entering the dark hallway outside the gym. There were curtains separating the main area and the entry way. The three of them had arrived a bit late, which may or may not have been because of Tango fussing over his hair. The lights from the dance were pouring out from behind the curtain and the music was considerably louder now that the three of them had entered the building. The loud music and sound of the large group of college students dancing traveled through Etho’s ears uncomfortably.

Impulse led the three of them forward and pulled the curtain back to enter the gym. As he did so, the three of them took in the sight of the dance. The gym had been decorated with the school’s colors. Streamers hung low from the ceiling making the large room feel smaller. There was a DJ table at the far end that glowed purple from the LED lights surrounding it. There were several students standing around the edges in groups talking, but the majority of them were clumped together in the center dancing. It was a chaotic and amazing sight, for Impulse and Tango that is. Their eyes grew wide at the sight and Etho could visibly see their excitement. However, the sight had the opposite effect on Etho. He froze where he was standing and starred at the large group of students with fear. Etho felt heat raising from his hands slowly making its way up his arms.

“Etho,” Tango got Etho’s attention, “you coming?” He asked unaware of how uncomfortable Etho was.

Etho looked to Tango and Impulse, he didn’t want to ruin their night together, but there was no way he was joining them in the middle of that chaos, they called dancing. “Actually, I’m gonna go to the bathroom, you two can go on ahead, I’ll find you later.” Etho said trying to give a reassuring smile.

“Etho, I told you,” Tango started.

“Go ahead Tango, I’m fine. Have fun, please.” Etho interrupted, hopping Tango would listen to him. He just wanted to find somewhere to be alone before he got too overwhelmed.

“Alright..” Tango felt a little bad for abandoning his friend, but it seemed to be what Etho wanted. So, Tango looked back to Impulse, grabbed his hand and the two of them ran into the mess of dancing college freshmen.

Etho watched the two of them disappear. The heat in his arms only getting worse. His fingertips started to feel numb. He looked down to his hands and rubbed the pad of this thumb over his other fingers, trying to feel something. He looked around the room trying to find a quiet corner to retreat to. He hoped after a few minutes to himself he might be able to join Tango. But as his eyes took in more of the dance it started to overwhelm his senses. His head started to feel heavy as his breathing became irregular. He needed to leave, but he realized that his feet had taken him somewhere else in the gym without releasing he was moving. He quickly looked for the opening in the curtain where they had come in, but everything started to blur together, and he couldn’t tell the difference between open curtains and closed ones. He was able to make out the bathroom, as it was the only blur of white among the black curtains. He quickly made his way over pleading it was empty. His hand was shaking as he reached for the door, but he made it inside and shut the door behind him, instantly the music softened.

The bathroom was small, there were only a couple of stales, all of them empty, thankfully. Etho stumbled over to one of the sinks and rested his weight against the edge. He pushed his palms harder into the sink trying to get some feeling back, but it was just making his arms shake more. Etho looked up into the mirror focusing on the blurry image of himself. He traced the outline of himself with his eyes and slowly his image cleared up. He looked at himself, it was the only thing he could see. Everything else was too clouded in his brain. He hated how he looked. His eyes were red and filled with the tears he was desperately holding back. Somehow his skin had turned even more pale, which he didn’t think was possible. If someone else saw him, they would assume he was dying…was he? He shook the thought out of his head. He wasn’t dying, he had experience this before, it would pass. But right now, he was falling apart, and he felt pathetic.

Then the door opened, and Etho’s body tensed up with the new presence in the bathroom. His reflection went blurry again. He was startled and quickly back away from the sink pressing his back to the wall. He turned and looked at the new figure in the bathroom with him. He only caught a glimpse of the man before he collapsed on the floor and blacked out.

Etho’s eyes shot open. He was leaning up against a wall cross-legged, and a man sat in front of him. Even though the man was sitting Etho could tell he was rather tall and lengthy by the way he slouched.

Etho started to stand trying to back away from the man.

“Hey, slow down man,” He said reaching his hand out and placing it on Etho’s shoulder, “you just passed out.”

Etho looked around, he was still in the bathroom, and it was just the two of them. “How long was I out?” Etho asked shyly.

The man pulled his arm back when he was sure Etho wasn’t going anywhere. “It’s only been about five minutes. Here drink this,” he said passing Etho a water bottle, “how are you feeling?”

Etho hesitated to grab the water. “It’s a new bottle, never been opened, please drink it.” The man said.

Etho reached out and grab the water, “I’m okay, I guess.” He took a sip of water. He hadn’t realized how dry his mouth and throat were. He placed the cap back on the bottle and took a deep breath. His body relaxed as it finally got the full breath of air that it needed. “Where’d you get the water, you didn’t walk in with one.”

“After you passed out, I had a friend of mine go get one, they’re just outside.” The man said shifting to a more relaxed position, “My name’s Doc.”

“Etho.” Etho looked Doc over. He had short black hair, and when Etho looked a bit closer he saw Doc had a prosthetic arm. It was metal and looked way more advanced than anything he had seen before. It seemed like it functioned like any normal arm could.

Doc didn’t seem like he was going to start the conversion back up again, and Etho didn’t really like how they were silently starring at each other. “Sorry, I’m still a little out of it. Thank you for the water, you really don’t have to stay any longer.” Etho said apologetically.

“Don’t worry about it, and to be honest, I’m a little afraid to leave you alone.” Doc said, his voice was low, and he had a German accent. “What if you pass out again?”

Etho looked down at his hands. He rubbed his thumb over the pads of his fingers like he did before, all the feeling was there. “I think I’m okay.”

“What happened?” Doc asked.

Etho looked back up at Doc, for some reason he trusted him, “I don’t really go to dances often…I had a panic attack, sometimes they make me pass out.”

Doc nodded in response, “You look a lot better now then you did before, what is it you want to do now?”

“I just want to leave.” Etho said honestly.

“Let me walk you out of the gym. In case it happens again.”

Etho forgot he would have to walk through the dance again to leave, and that was something he didn’t want to do. He nodded, “thank you.”

Doc stood up and reached out his hand. Etho grabbed it and Doc pulled him up. The two of them walked over to the door of the bathroom and Doc look down at Etho, silently asking him if he was ready.

Etho griped the water bottle with both of his hands and nodded to Doc. Doc opened the door and the two of them stepped out into the blaring music. Doc turned to two people standing against the wall right beside the bathroom door.

“Thanks for watching the door guys, we are heading out you guys ready?” Doc asks them.

“Yup!” The shorter one said, as they both nodded and stole quick glances at Etho.

Doc gently placed his hand on Etho’s shoulder and started leading the group out of the gym. Etho really appreciated it, Doc’s hand was grounding and secure. Etho lend into it, he blocked out all of his surroundings and let Doc’s hand guide him to a safer location.

Soon enough Doc pushed open a door and Etho felt the cool breeze of the night fill his lounges. He instantly felt so much better. Once they were outside and the door had muffled the music from the dance, Doc let go of Etho’s shoulder. The four of them continued walking to the dorm buildings together.

Doc was walking next to Etho and the two others were side by side a few steps ahead of them. Doc’s two friends bantered quietly back and forth as they walked, and their silly conversation amused Etho.

“I am not that short Beef!”

“Oh of course not Bdubs…I bet you’re just tall enough for all the big kid rides at amusement parks.” The one Etho now knew as Beef said back in a bit of a mocking tone followed by a chuckle.

“Uh ha, you’re hilarious!” Bdubs said with an exaggerated pout.

“Don’t mind them,” Doc said talking to Etho, “This is Beef,” Beef turned and gave Etho a small wave, “and the short one is Bdubs.” Bdubs quickly turned around and smacked Doc’s arm then smiled toward Etho. “This is Etho.” Etho gave a two fingered wave in return. Doc finished the introductions as they reached the door to the dorm building.

“Do you live in West too?” Bdubs asked Etho.

“Yeah.” Etho replied.

Doc looked over to Etho, “The three of us are going to hang out in mine and Bdubs room, would you want to come?” he asked.

Etho thought it best to go back to his room and be alone for a while. However, his mouth moved before his brain could, “yeah sure.” He said as he had an argument with himself in his head.

“Cool, let’s go.” Doc said pulling the door to the building open.

Doc led the four of them into the building and up to his and Bdubs shared room. To Etho’s surprise Doc was leading them in a very familiar direction. They turned a corner, and the jungle decorations came into view.

Doc stopped in front of room 230 and reached to open the door. Etho chuckled to himself at the coincidence.

“What?” Doc turned to Etho confused.

“Nothing really, I live a few doors down,” Etho replied pointing down the hallway, “it’s a surprising coincidence.” He shrugged.

“Really, huh, meant to be.” Doc smiled at Etho and the four of them walked into the room.


End file.
